# How to make distilled water at home...



## TBoneSeoul (May 31, 2008)

Ok... I know how stupid this is... however you need to understand that life in South Korea is not exactly like life in North America. For the life of me I can't find any distilled water to buy... so I'm thinking I might have to step up and make my own. 

The plan thus far you ask? 

Bottled water in a kettle... send the steam onto a stainless stell pot lid thats tilted so that the condensation drips into a bowl... which will then be put into a bottle sprayer. 

So there ya go... :chk

Will this work?


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## BamaDoc77 (Jan 31, 2007)

TBoneSeoul said:


> Ok... I know how stupid this is... however you need to understand that life in South Korea is not exactly like life in North America. For the life of me I can't find any distilled water to buy... so I'm thinking I might have to step up and make my own.
> 
> The plan thus far you ask?
> 
> ...


pretty much, i would sterilize your pots, drips, etc. though..


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## tzaddi (Feb 24, 2007)

Have you thought of making a solar still? It would have no power consumption and the principle is the same as what you are doing now. There are many simple designs and since you do not have to produce multiple gallons a per day it can be very compact.

You can find many designs and plans on the internet, here is one that is very simple.

http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/sstill.htm


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## kgoings (Apr 22, 2008)

TBoneSeoul said:


> Ok... I know how stupid this is... however you need to understand that life in South Korea is not exactly like life in North America. For the life of me I can't find any distilled water to buy... so I'm thinking I might have to step up and make my own.
> 
> The plan thus far you ask?
> 
> ...


You know any military personel? I would think they have it on base.


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## goatfarmer (Feb 24, 2008)

Sounds like you have it covered, boiling water taking the condensation, or steam, then filtering out any additional impurities to a liquid state.


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## rumballs (Mar 15, 2005)

Yes, it will work.

Only vaguely related but the only time I made distilled water it was the first step in making contact lens solution - which you can do with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 cup distilled water


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## lightning9191 (Mar 30, 2008)

Sounds like distilled water to me!


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## RGD (May 10, 2006)

Or you could just skip all that and use the bottled water.

Sometimes I think we take this hobby a little bit to seriously. For the first 15/20 years of cigar smoking I never used distilled water. I only use it now cause I can AND the wife buys it for me. If I run out I simply use bottled water or filtered water from the refrigerator. 

I doubt that you would notice any difference and I'd really challenge anyone to tell the difference between two identical cigars - one humidified with plain water and one with distilled water.


Ron


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## JohnnyKay5 (Apr 28, 2008)

Thank you Ron!


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## Silound (May 22, 2007)

There are an abundant number of DIY stills available out there. Some of the easiest are simply a large glass bowl and two pots placed out in direct sunlight.


I find that PG solution is easy enough to buy by the case wholesale, and I don't go through all that much of it even with three desktop humidors, a 24 bottle wine cooler, and a 48qt cooler.


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## JPH (Jun 30, 2006)

It's like a dollar....


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## jkim05 (Feb 26, 2007)

JPH said:


> It's like a dollar....


....but he's in Korea...

Well, I'll tell you this much...if I make it to Korea this summer, which is possibly in the works, I'll bring a gallon jug with me in my luggage...I'll just have to make sure it doesn't explode or open in my luggage. My family might think I'm crazy though. Hopefully you find it, I'll ask around and see where you might be able to find it. Have you asked at a pharmacy? I'm sure they would have something comparable.

Ultimately though, the purpose is preventing microbial growth on your humidifier, so I do agree most people do take this a bit too seriously, but I think that's due to the accessibility of distilled water for cheap in the states. Why by bottled drinking water when you can purchased distilled for the same money or less? Nevertheless, most bottles of water are shelf-stable for long periods of time, which would suggest a lack of contaminants in the water. The other thing to consider is if you use beads or some active humidification devices, they will clog up over time due to minerals and other stuff in the water, which are not in distilled water.


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## TBoneSeoul (May 31, 2008)

Hi guys... thanks for the info. 

I do need distilled water because I'm going to start using beads... I'll let you know how it turns out! 

Oh... and JPH... read things before posting... I've heard its helpful.


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## CigarmanTim (Apr 5, 2008)

How about Soju?


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## lawdog_13 (May 8, 2008)

TBone,

Not sure if you are military. But if you are or no someone who is, you can get some from the motorpool. We use deionized water for the batteries in our vehicles, it is not exactly the same as distilled water, but close enough.

Good luck!


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## zipa (May 24, 2008)

lawdog_13 said:


> We use deionized water for the batteries in our vehicles, it is not exactly the same as distilled water, but close enough.


I've been using that stuff for ages with my humidifiers (acrylic and "oasis") with zero ill effects. Basically you'll just want water that pure enough to not clog the humidifier. Whether it is sterile or not doesn't matter.

You should be able to get de-ionized water at any auto-part store or service station.


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## andy_mccabe501 (Oct 3, 2006)

i use deionized battery water too

can you get that atall?

andy


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## TBoneSeoul (May 31, 2008)

Soju... haha... why not! 

I'm not military... I work at a University here in Seoul. 

I think I might have a lead on some distilled water... I'll report back later!


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## lightning9191 (Mar 30, 2008)

TBoneSeoul said:


> Soju... haha... why not!
> 
> I'm not military... I work at a University here in Seoul.
> 
> I think I might have a lead on some distilled water... I'll report back later!


If you're at a university, go visit someone in the biology or chemistry department. I would think they definitely have loads of distilled water.


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